Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The United States believes that North Korea is supplying Iran with long-range missiles , suggesting Iran has strike capabilities are stronger than discussed in public , according to one of the leaked U.S. diplomatic cables released Sunday .

The issue was raised by American diplomats in a high level-meeting with their Russian counterparts in late 2009 , but the Russians expressed doubt on the U.S. concern , according to the cable . The revelation is in one of the documents published by WikiLeaks , the online whistleblower website that began releasing a cache of more than 250,000 cables Sunday .

The document , dated February 24 and labeled `` secret , '' details a meeting between the United States and Russia in which U.S. representatives expressed belief that North Korea supplied Iran with missiles .

The cable cites the U.S. belief that 19 BM-25 missiles were shipped to Iran in 2005 . According to Jane 's , a weapons research company , the missiles are reported to have a range somewhere between 2,500 and 4,000 km -LRB- 1,560 to 2,500 miles -RRB- .

The Russians expressed doubts about the claim , citing lack of evidence , the cable states . But the Americans countered that some countries have offered direct evidence , and said they would try to bring further evidence to future meetings .

The United States believes that Iran wanted the missiles for the propulsion technology . But in an exchange described in the cable , U.S. and Russian officials debated whether North Korea even had the BM-25 missile at all , and the Russians asked whether the United States had any images of the missile .

`` The U.S. did not , but noted that North Korea had paraded the missile through the streets of Pyongyang . Russia disagreed , '' the cable noted . The Russians countered that a review of the video of that parade showed a different video and `` the missile appears to be a myth . ''

In what the cable describes as a `` vigorous session of questions and answers '' discussing ballistic missile threats , Russia detailed its assessment of Iran 's missile program , and the degree to which Russia believes these programs constitute threats that would require missile defense responses . The cable said Russia believes Iran 's `` success '' is that it has created Shahab-3 missiles that can reach targets in the Middle East and southeastern Europe , but they can not do substantial damage with conventional warheads .

According to the cable , the Russian Defense Ministry 's Evgeny Zudin said that although Iran can build prototypes of long-range systems , it lacks structural materials such as high-quality aluminum to do so , and it also does not have the materials necessary for the kind of mass production that would make it a security threat at the moment or in the near future .

Russia believes although Iran might be able to begin a ballistic missile program with a 2,000 - to 3000-mile -LRB- 3,200-to 4,800-km -RRB- range after 2015 , it does not see Iran moving in this direction . Russia has instead concluded that Iran 's ballistic missile program is directed toward developing combat-ready missiles to address regional concerns , the cable states .

`` In their analysis , the missile programs of Iran and the -LSB- North Koreans -RSB- are not sufficiently developed , and their intentions to use missiles against the U.S. or Russia are nonexistent , thus not constituting a `` threat '' requiring the deployment of missile defenses , '' the cable 's author noted .

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U.S. and Russian officials disagree on reported Iranian missile

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The dispute was recounted in one of the leaked U.S. diplomatic cables